Juniors Journal: Harris, Hitmen helping New Jersey rebuild

For so many of us, hockey is our refuge, our
“getaway” activity. For others, it is a passion and it
needs to be. Hockey needs to be a passion if you play it and plan
on making it your vehicle for acquiring a college education and
pursuing the professional ranks. The junior-aged player eats,
sleeps and dreams of achieving such lofty aspirations. Nothing will
get in his way.

Sometimes, however, the world beyond the rink puts major
obstacles in their way. Reality reared its ugly head when Hurricane
Sandy hit the northeastern United States, particularly in New
Jersey where the damage is unimaginable.

Between the Eastern Junior Hockey League and the Atlantic
Junior Hockey League, there are three junior teams that were in
Sandy’s path. Jersey Hitmen coach Toby Harris, a native of
Kingston, Mass., described the destruction as
devastating.

“It’s so sad, people lost everything,”
the Boston College alum said. “I’ve been here for two
years and I’ve never seen anything like it. Complete towns
are under water or just washed away. I mean, on TV, we saw the
damage that was done to New Orleans by Hurricane Katrina but when
you see it in person, you can’t really believe
it.”

The Hitmen roster features players from plenty of
locations outside the Garden State. A few hail from places such as
Nebraska, Ohio and other areas of the country that are not usually
in the path of such powerful storms. Coach Harris describes how his
players have reacted to Hurricane Sandy.

“Well, pretty much all of our U16s and U18s are from
New Jersey and many of them lost their houses,” the coach
said. “They’ve had to move in with other families. A
lot of our (EJHL) guys still don’t have electricity or
running water in their homes or billet’s homes, but
we’ve banded together and are helping others. Our players are
helping people clean out their homes. They, along with my wife,
have been volunteering at a soup kitchen, making sure people get
enough to eat.

“We have the players’ families who don’t
live in New Jersey helping any way they can,” the coach
continued. “The father of Tanner Creel, who is from Illinois
and one of our goaltenders, bought and sent a huge generator for
Tanner’s billet family. The support we’re receiving
from all around the country has been incredible. Of course,
I’ve heard from the other EJHL teams and they all want to
help. We appreciate everything people are doing for
us.”

The organization is also planning a benefit hockey game to
raise funds for the cleanup and rebuilding efforts.

“We’re going to play a Hockey Fights Sandy
game in the near future,” said Harris. “We just need to
finalize the date and opponent and we’ll announce all the
details. We want to do everything we can for the people down
here.”

The Hitmen were able to find practice ice and have played
twice since the storm ravaged their surroundings.

“Last week, we were able to practice at Ford Hall
Arena on the campus of Montclair State University, although some of
the players couldn’t practice and we played our series
against the Springfield Jr. Pics, “ Harris said. “We
lost the first game. For obvious reasons, our heads just
weren’t in the game but we won the next day so that was
something we could feel good about.”

The players and staff of the Jersey Hitmen are continuing
to help each other cope with Hurricane Sandy, but more importantly,
they are helping their fellow human beings. People have lost
everything they have ever owned and the Hitmen have been
instrumental in assisting with the cleanup and provision of the
essentials that most of us take for granted on a daily
basis.

Asked how will the people of New Jersey move on
emotionally and put their lives back together and Harris said,
“I moved down from Boston two years ago and I quickly learned
that the people here have heart and are genuinely good people.
They’re determined to rebuild their communities and it will
happen. I love it here.”

Game of the Week

Jersey Hitmen at Bay State Breakers

Two of the Eastern Junior Hockey League’s hottest
teams will meet this weekend for two games when the South
division’s first place team, the Jersey Hitmen, visit
Massachusetts to face off against the division’s second place
club, the Bay State Breakers. One point separates the two squads
who are also first and second overall in the league standings,
respectively.

Jerseyboasts three of the circuit’s
top four leading scorers in Tim Clifton (24 points), Brendan
Bradley (24 points) and Josh Henke (23 points). Offensively, Jersey
has been unstoppable. The Hitmen power play is scoring at an eye
opening 34.3 percent rate, contributing to the club’s average
of 5.06 goals for per game.

Defensively, Jersey has given up 1.94 goals per game.
Goaltender Tanner Creel is second in the league with a .943 save
percentage. His crease mate, Chris Funkey is third with a solid
.931 save percentage of his own. The puck stoppers have been buoyed
by penalty killing units that have enjoyed a success rate of 92.2
percent.

BayStatehas been on a roll of
its own. The club has won eight of it’s last ten contests.
Leading the way for the Breakers is new Princeton University
recruit Ben Halford (Lenox, Mass.). Halford leads the EJHL with a
.951 save percentage. The team is allowing an average of 2.60 goals
per game boosted by the penalty killers who have stopped 87.5
percent of man down situations.

On the offensive side of the puck, the Breakers are
scoring by committee. Twenty-six players, including Halford and
fellow netminder, Greg Ogard have found their way onto the score
sheet this season. The top point producer on the club is Sotiri
Anthanasopoulos, who has 16 points on seven goals and nine assists
in 17 games. The Montreal native has registered 13 points in his
last seven contests.

The Breakers power play needs improvement as it’s
15.7 percent success rate will attest but it is the a respectable
seventh in the EJHL.

Power Rankings

1) Boston Junior Bruins (11-5-0-0-0) - The
Junior B’s were idle last weekend and remain in first place
in the Eastern Junior Hockey League’s North division. This
week, coach Peter Masters’ club will see the Bridgewater
Bandits in Bridgewater, Massachusetts on Wednesday.

2) Bay State Breakers (11-5-0-0-1) - The
Breakers are on the rise in the Eastern Junior Hockey
League’s South division. Last weekend, Bay State picked up
four points by sweeping the Connecticut Oilers (6-2, 4-0). With the
victories, the Breakers moved within one point of division leader
Jersey Hitmen. This week, Bay State has a two game showdown at home
in Kingston, Massachusetts with the Hitmen.

3) Valley Junior Warriors (10-6-0-0-0) - The
Jr. Warriors took on a spirited Boston Bandits club last Sunday and
came out on the losing side (2-1). Despite the loss, Valley
maintained its hold on second place in the EJHL’s North
division. This weekend, the Jr. Warriors will play three games in
three days with a visit to Rochester, New York to face off against
the Jr. Stars Friday night before returning home to host the
Philadelphia Revolution on Saturday and the Connecticut Oilers on
Sunday.

4) Springfield Jr. Pics (10-6-0-0-0) - The Pics
made the trip south to take on the Jersey Hitmen for a two game set
and returned home after splitting the series with a 3-2 win and a
7-3 loss. Coach Pat Tabb’s squad has risen to third place in
the Eastern Junior Hockey League’s South division thanks to
going 8-2-0 in the it’s last ten contests. This week,
Springfield will play the Islanders Hockey Club on Wednesday
evening. The next night, the Pics will see the New Hampshire Junior
Monarchs. Both tilts will take place in Haverhill,
Massachusetts.

5) Boston Jr. Rangers (9-1-4-0) - The Jr.
Rangers had last weekend off from Atlantic Junior Hockey League
action but remained in first place. Next week, Boston will begin a
five game home stand. Friday evening, BJR will host the Connecticut
Wolfpack. Saturday the Junior Rangers will meet the New Jersey
Titans followed with a Sunday game versus the New Jersey Rockets.

6) Walpole Express (9-2-2-0) - Like the Jr.
Rangers, Walpole did not hit the ice last weekend in the AJHL. The
Express is sitting in third place in the league. Coach Mark
Kumpel’s team is one point behind second place
Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and two points in arrears of first place
Boston Jr. Rangers. This week, Walpole will travel to the Nutmeg
state for a Tuesday night tilt with the Wolfpack.

7) South Shore Kings (8-5-0-2-0) - South Shore
was given last weekend off and returns to EJHL action Wednesday
afternoon at the Lighthouse in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts for a match
versus the Islanders Hockey Club. The Kings will return to the ice
Thursday in Haverhill, Mass. to take on the Portland Junior
Pirates. SSK will hit the frozen sheet for its third game of the
week against the Rochester Jr. Stars on Saturday in Haverhill,
Mass.

8) Islanders Hockey Club (7-4-0-0-1) - The
Islanders made the trip from Tyngsboro, Mass. to Rochester, NY
where coach Sean Tremblay’s troops split their two game
series by scores of 4-2 (loss) and 6-1 (win). The Islanders who are
6-4-0-0 in their last ten matches and sit in fifth place in the
EJHL’s North division. They will face off against South Shore
at home on Wednesday followed with games versus Springfield on
Thursday in Haverhill, Mass and New York Apple Core also in
Haverhill, Mass.

9) Northern Cyclones (8-3-0-1) - The Cyclones
did not play last weekend. Coach Bill Flanagan’s club
occupies fifth position in the AJHL standings. This week, Northern
will see each of New Jersey’s teams as they will host the
Rockets on Saturday and the Titans on Sunday.

10) Connecticut Wolfpack (7-2-1-1) - The
‘Pack did not see AJHL action last week. Coach Chris
Cerrella’s club is in sixth place and will look to move up in
the standings when they face the Walpole Express on Tuesday night.
Friday Connecticut will drive north to Tewksbury, Massachusetts to
take on league leader Boston Jr. Rangers.

11) Boston Bandits (8-9-0-0-0) - Coach Steve
Stirling’s team pulled off the upset of the weekend by
defeating the Valley Jr. Warriors 2-1. The Bandits are in fourth
place in the EJHL’s North division. Boston has a 5-5-0-0
record in it’s last ten contests. This week, BB has one game
scheduled. The club will host the number one ranked Boston Junior Bruins at home on
Wednesday.

12) New Hampshire Junior Monarchs (7-4-0-0-1) -
Last weekend, the Monarchs made the long trip to Philadelphia and
swept the Revolution in a two game series (4-3, 4-1). It was the
first time this season New Hampshire had won two consecutive games
from an opponent this season. The defending EJHL champions
currently reside in sixth place in the North division. This Friday,
Coach Ryan Frew’s crew will face off against the Springfield
Jr. Pics in Haverhill, Massachusetts followed with a Saturday tilt
versus the Connecticut Oilers also in Haverhill, Massachusetts.

13) Connecticut Oilers (4-8-0-2-0) - The Oilers
made the trek north to Raynham, Massachusetts for a two game set
with the Bay State Breakers but came away two losses (6-2, 4-0).
Connecticut is currently in sixth place in the EJHL’s South
division but trail New York Apple Core by just two points.

14) Laconia Leafs (3-9-4-0) - To paraphrase a
famous quote, “Something good, this way comes...” to
Laconia, New Hampshire. The Leafs are in the midst of a five game
unbeaten streak and have risen from last place in the Atlantic
Junior Hockey League to tenth. Coach Joe Cardarelli’s squad
is only three points removed from seventh place in the standings.
This week, Laconia will test their new found success against the
New York Bobcats in a two contest set at home in the Granite
State.

15) Portland Jr. Pirates (2-14-0-1) - The
Pirates welcomed New York Apple Core on November 3rd but were less
than hospitable hosts as Portland defeated Apple Core, 4-1. The win
ended a seven game EJHL losing streak for the Jr. Pirates. The two
teams met again the next day with New York coming out on top, 5-2.
Thursday, Portland will be looking for its third win of the season
against the South Shore Kings. PJP will meet the Philadelphia
Revolution on Sunday. Both matches will take place in Haverhill,
Massachusetts.